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Salah reveals why he joined Chelsea despite ‘wanting’ Liverpool

Date published: Tuesday 5th April 2016 9:00

Mohamed Salah has lifted the lid on the reasons why he decided to join Chelsea over Liverpool in 2014.

The Egyptian winger, who was then at Basel, was a long-time transfer target for the Reds during Brendan Rodgers’ reign and came close to signing for the club in January 2014, only for the clubs to fail to agree on a deal.

Salah eventually opted for a move to Chelsea, with the Blues paying the Swiss club £11million – and the winger, who is currently in Serie A with Roma, has lifted the lid on his failure to join Liverpool and why he eventually opted to join the Blues.

“Liverpool had wanted me for a number of months. They had opened talks in October 2013,” Salah told MBC Masr.

“Negotiations took a long time, because Basel rejected more than one offer. They felt the transfer fee was not that high. I was waiting for Liverpool because I really like Liverpool. I was eager to join them.

“But then I received a phone call from [Jose] Mourinho and that changed everything. He explained the situation to me and told me that he needed me at Chelsea. That was one of the main reasons why I joined Chelsea.

“Mourinho told me that he thought I was a good player and that he wanted me to pick Chelsea.”

Salah’s move to Stamford Bridge failed to work out, however. He made just 19 appearances for the Londoners, and was loaned to Fiorentina last season before joining Roma permanently basis in the summer. He has since scored 12 goals in 33 games for the Serie A side.